Conducted to a private drawing-room on the first floor, he became aware, as the door opened, of a handsome girl in animated conversation with his two friends; she seemed so very much at home that he experienced a little shock, as of the unaccountable, the disconcerting, and his eyes with difficulty turned from this new face to that of the venerable hostess.

Here again a surprise awaited him; Lady Ogram looked so much younger than when he took leave of her at Rivenoak, that he marvelled at the transformation.
Notwithstanding her appearance she spoke in a strained, feeble voice, often indistinct; one noticed, too, that she was harder of hearing.
Having pressed his hand--a very faint pressure, though meant for cordial--Lady Ogram turned a look upon the bright young lady near her, and said, with a wheezy emphasis: "Let me introduce you to my niece, Miss Tomalin." Never had Lashmar known her so ceremonious; never had she appeared so observant of his demeanor during the social formality.

Overcome with astonishment at what he heard, he bowed stiffly, but submissively.

The autocrat watched him with severe eyes, and only when his salute was accomplished did the muscles of her visage again relax.

Mechanically, he turned to bow in the same way to Miss Bride, but she at once offered her hand with a friendly, "'low do you do ?" "My niece, Miss Tomalin." Where on earth did this niece spring from?
Everybody understood that Lady Ogram was alone in the world.